Why do centrepins cost so much?

I'd really like one for trotting on the Trent but I just can't justify the cost when a fixed spool is so much more versitile.

I'd have thought as there is less technology going into them, therefore reduced R&D and manufacturing costs, that they'd be cheaper!

[ 12. August 2004, 10:14 PM: Message edited by: m@ ]

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theres cheap ones and theres expensive ones its a matter of taste and purse size

Not all centrepins are expensive, have a look at the Leeds range from lewtham Engineering, very useable reels, and prices around the same as a good fixed spool, they just aren't as pretty as the really expensive ones,

Or try Ebay, second hand Trudex and speedias can be picked up relatively cheaply, and again are very useable.

I suspect the cost of the top end reels is down to them being to some extent hand made, and also a rather low demand item, my youngs "BJ" has a serial number of just 496, despite the reels having been availible for quite some time.

This one is a bit pricey, but here's one that's a bit cheaper.

A good centre pin is a hand made precision instrument m@, not something churned out by the thousand on a computer controlled machine.

Bit of a shame they aren't turned out on a modern CNC machine, and then they wouldn't need to be hand tuned or whatever the jargon is for making the reel run free.

Modern machinery can produce thousands and thousands of exactly matching parts, modern stress relieving and heat treatments will make sure the side plates are exactly the same, so no balancing needed.

Just think of a modern car engine and you will see what I mean.

So why does/has no one bitten the bullet and made a few thousand? It
would keep the price down a bit.

Or is it that there really isn't the demand after all they are not much good for serious fishing like carping

Den

Okuma have started doing centrepins at a reasonable price. They look OK but haven't been out long so not much of track record so far.

[ 13. August 2004, 12:55 AM: Message edited by: Mister Toad ]

Matt, here is Ad Number:3649
Name:Craig
Email: pastmidnite@shaw.ca
Date:10-Aug-2004
Province/State:BRITISH COLUMBIA
Country:Canada
Item(s):Jw young center pin reel
Comments:
JW Young Trudex centre pin reel (trotting reel, float reel...whatever you want to call it) Good condition. I'll take $80 OBO..I plan to list it on Ebay and imagine I can get that for it no problem.
one that isn't too costly.
Hope this helps.
Randy

For its price you cant fault a Leeds centrepin.Learn to cast with one and you have more than just a trotting reel.

Den, I would think it would cost too much to tool up for it, there has been a definite increase in their use over the last, say, ten years but the numbers required are probably not there to make it worthwhile.

Here you go then m@, a Leeds centre pin You should be able to pick this up for less than £30.

Interesting thing about pins is that they get better with age, as the metal-to-metal surfaces run in, like the moving components in a car engine. So, far from worrying whether a budget pin will last, you can be pretty confident that it improve and last much longer than any fixed spool. There are more moving parts in a fixed spool, hence any wear is exaggerated through the gear train until you reach the point where it has to be shimmed up. That won't happen with a pin, but keep the spindle lubricated with a light (ie low viscosity oil). Something simple like 3-in-1 is ideal.